If you've ever driven along the GW Parkway and notice three rock formations between the Chain and Key Bridges, you've seen the subject of today's piece. I love ghost stories and folklore, and today's piece is about one of the very first stories I learned about the DMV when my family moved here in the early 1990s. When we moved to Virginia, I was very into ghost stories and folklore and mythology (I was 12). I don't remember if I asked for the book Ghosts: Washington's Most Famous Ghost Stories by John Alexander, or if my parents bought it for me, knowing I'd enjoy it.
The first story is called "The Curse of the Three Sisters." Now, everyone gets to have their own opinions and beliefs about things like ghosts and curses. I spent a large portion of my life in New Orleans, and have had some odd experiences, so I believe there's more to the world than what we see. I also believe in science, so there's that. The Three Sisters story is very much a part of the lore of the DC area. Entire building projects have been canceled because of it and people have died trying to cross that part of the Potomac River. Maybe there are scientific reasons. Maybe there's an energy in that spot. Maybe it's a bit of both.
The story, as recounted in Alexander's book (there are variations on the story), is that the three sisters were the daughters of a medicine man. After a prolonged war with a neighboring tribe, the village warriors were going off in search of food for their people. Three braves were left behind, the men the sisters loved. They decided to go after the rest of the party, and were ambushed and killed by scouts from the other tribe. The sisters, in their grief, vowed revenge. They set out on a makeshift raft to avenge their lost loves. The raft was no match for the current of the Potomac. It capsized and the sisters were thrown into the river. Before they died, they cursed the spot. If they could not cross the river, no one would. A great storm raged and three rocks emerged in the exact spot where the sisters drowned. In death, the sisters were reunited with their lost loves.
Imagine being 12 years old and reading this story for the first time. At some point in our first year in the area, I made my parents drive me to see the Threes Sisters Islands (or Rocks). I don't remember much from that visit; I think my dad slowed the car down as best as he could on that stretch of the Parkway. In my preteen heart, I paid my respects to the Three Sisters. While I don't drive that way often, I always pay my respects to the sisters and acknowledge their loss.
Today is my attempt to respect their story in thread. It's stories like this that give a place it's history, whether it's real or legend. The only way we keep these parts of history and the stories alive is if we share them. I hope that's how this piece is considered.
Details:
Stitches: back, stem, satin, straight stitches, French knots
Thread palette: DMC 310, 801, 986,322 (3 strands)
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